Chapter 196

Chapter 196: Chapter 196

ASHER

Keith is having a field day while I enquire about Skylar’s whereabout. I can’t believe she’s already managed to evade me shortly after claiming to be visiting Keith.

"What do you mean you have nothing to say to me?"

He throws a casual glance around his property, lets his eyes settle on a bleating sheep. "Exactly what you heard, Ash Rollins. I think you should be on your way. Your presence is irritating my sheep." He enjoys a glib look. "Why on earth would you not know where your only sister is, by the way? It’s only been what, a couple of weeks and she’s already sick of all four of you? He clucks his tongue at me. "I knew it wouldn’t be long before she saw you guys for who you truly are, get back her senses and return where she belongs."

I grit my teeth to rein in the punch at the tip of my clenched fists. How did Ashton put up with this clown for so long?

"You claim to be the best big brother yet she keeps shutting you out. From what I see, you’re no more than a stand-in big brother." That part claws at his pride if the veins jutting out of his temples are any indication.

"You’re right. I shouldn’t have come here." I throw on my sunglasses and give the farm a onceover. "Skylar probably needs some time to adjust to her new reality. That’s all this is. She’ll reach out to me when she’s ready."

On my way back to the office, Ashal’s call comes in.

"Did you find her?"

"I told you to sit this one out. I’ll handle it. You’ve got shit to deal with yourself. Focus on that." Silence hums between us. It’s been weeks and the topic still feels uncomfortable to broach. "How is she?"

"She still hasn’t said a word to me, but at least she manages to take her drugs and her meals."

"That’s a relief." Ashley’s call beeps in. "I’ve got to go. See you at home." I answer Ashley’s call right after dropping Ashal’s. "You guys can’t go a day without talking to me, can you?"

"We’ve got a problem." He replies in a clipped, cold tone that dries up my humor. Chills run down my spine when he explains everything to me. "Get here as fast as you can. I’ll call Ashton too..."

"No!" I counter him. "Leave that to me."

While driving down to the meeting venue, I stifle the urge to curse. At this point, I certainly won’t be bragging when I say I do the best job at cleaning my brothers’ messes than all of them combined. What the fuck was Ashton thinking by not running his little ’fix up’ by me? I could have seen this coming given how poorly he handled it.

"Shit!" I finally curse, slamming both hands on my steering wheel. This is the last thing my family needs right now, after the whole debacle with our birthday party.

Sure, we won hearts again but a scandal like this will topple everything we’ve struggled to restore. Our company might not survive a second hit in such a short timeframe. I can’t let this happen. I can’t let that vengeful cop blast my world all over again.

***

Ashton is characteristically late to the meeting and even after he arrives, he appears distracted, constantly checking his phone.

"I’m going to need everyone to turn off their damn cellphones." I blurt out, eyes tailored at Ashton. "This is too serious to be sidetracked by anything else." As a show of leadership, I turn my phone off and toss it on the table between us. Then I arch my brow towards my brothers, expecting no different from them.

Sighing, Ashton drops his right after Ashley. Then, I turn to Iman. For the duration of this meeting, I’ll try not to lash out at him for showing his face in front of my family again after my clear warning.

"Tell us everything you know."

Clearing his throat, he goes ahead to explain how he heard the rumor from the grapevine while out drinking himself to stupor in a local bar.

"That’s it?" I lean back in my seat with impatient eyes. "You heard a rumor at a bar? You don’t even recall the name or face of the person who said it?" I glance at Ashley. "That’s the story you bought?"

"I thought it was worth investigating." Ashley replies.

"I left no crumbs." Ashton adds defensively, staring daggers at Iman. "There’s no amount of digging that would point to any of us as a suspect in the cop’s brother’s death. The evidence is either inexistent or it was fabricated." Then at me, "I told you this was a waste of my bloody time. Everything this guy says is a goddamn lie."

My eyes zero in on Iman. "I’m going to ask you one last time. Was this half-baked gossip a ruse to get an audience with us or do you have some actual proof to back up your claim?"

Iman shifts uncomfortably in his chair. "Look, I did hear it, okay?"

"Where?"

"It was at the Oak bar..."

"You stupid liar!" I snap, leaning forward in my seat. "You just said this convo happened at Bottle Haven Bar." He begins to stutter as Ashton rises and grabs him by the collar of his shirt.

"Do you have any idea what I was pulled from to come sit here and listen to your pathetic lies?" When he reels a hand backward, I catch it and bring it down. We don’t want attention. "He lied!"

"I know. I’ll deal with his bullshit, but not here." I assure Ashton.

"I know what I heard."

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Ashton snaps at Iman, a little angrier than usual. Quietly, I pull Iman aside and lock eyes with him.

"This isn’t the last time you’ll hear from me. Till then, watch yourself." I shove him towards the exit of the lounge and return to my brothers. Iman might be lying about the cop or he might not. Either way, I fully intend to investigate it before it comes back to bite us in the ass. I return to my brothers.

"Is everything okay?" Though the question is meant for Ashton, Ashley swoops in to answer just as Ashton prepares to reply.

"Not exactly. Father is firing me from my own company and handing it over to God knows who to manage."

I am a little too late to drop my hands from Ashton’s shoulders. Realizing I hadn’t directed the question at him but Ashton, Ashley chuckles dryly, swirling his tonic in the glass.

"Oh, I’ll be fine, thanks for not asking."

"What was that? Father’s doing what?"

But the enthusiasm runs flat as he drains his glass, surges to his feet and jams both hands in his pockets. "You know, it’s quite ironic that father’s reason for not being able to trust me with managing MY company is because according to him, I lack the ability to rein in my emotions." Giving Ashton a quick, sweeping look, he chuckles again. "Yet he still has a job."

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Ashton brays angrily.

"You lose your shit over nothing and everything, especially Demi. You’ve taken wild decisions just because of her, decisions that threatened to impact negatively on your family and the business yet I am the one who’s being tossed out of my company for having one meltdown?"

"One meltdown?" Ashton scoffs derisively. "Let me simplify things for you. It’s not about letting your emotions fly. It’s about making sure the company continues to thrive in spite of your feelings. Last I checked, MY company is still closing deals and hitting our goals even while I was dealing with personal stuff. Can you say the same, Ashley?" At his silence, Ashton adds, "That’s what I thought."

"ENOUGH, you two." I range myself between their heated stares. "I understand everyone is a little on edge but fighting is the last thing we need right now. Ashley, I’ll speak with father. I’m certain he’s bluffing. He knows what an outrage it’ll cause if you’re removed from the company. You’re not just the face of the brand; you ARE the brand. My guess is he made an empty threat to snap you out of your depression. Rather than sulking and taking petty shots at Ashton, you might want to sit up and prove to him that you still got it. Ashton’s right, your numbers aren’t looking good and it’s a cause for concern."

I turn to Ashton. "As for you, you can’t take all the credit for how stable your company has been. We both know Gris is your best hire. If you didn’t have him making you look good, I bet you won’t be so smug about your numbers either. My advice? The business should never be allowed to suffer no matter what you’re dealing with. Plus, you really need to get your emotions in check, Ashton. Every time there’s trouble in paradise, everyone around you can tell. That’s not a good look."

He dips his eyes to the floor.

"Get back to work, both of you. I’ll personally be overseeing your progress from now on and trust me, if you prove incompetent for the role you’re handling, I’ll gladly support whatever decision father makes. In the meantime, crush this beef like brothers and be on your way."

They apologize to each other.

"I’ll keep an eye out for Sky. Let me know if you guys hear anything." Ashley says while leaving. Ashton nods at me and follows suit. I watch them leave before taking a call.

"Did you find her?"

"Not yet, sir."

I stifle the urge to curse. Skylar has always been good at hiding. I can’t blame my best guys for being outwitted by a girl who has spent the better part of her life living in the shadows. I end the call and let out a deep sigh.

She was really pissed at me for enquiring about our grandfather and father. Don’t I have a right to know after she had stalled for days? I have a ton of questions and her answers will largely influence my next plan of action.

"I knew it. That’s all you really care about." She had blurted out accusatorily. "You shouldn’t have bothered with the caring brother act. Strapping me to a chair and beating me to a pulp like you’re accustomed to would have gotten you all the answers you need much faster."

She was very volatile and I had to take a step back and let her cool off. Little did I know she was going to disappear on me.

"Where the hell are you, Skylar?" I mumble under my breath.

***

I spend the rest of the day at work. Even when I indulge in meetings with father and Josh, he makes no mention of hiring a manager for Ashley’s company. I decide to give it a rest. I’m sure if he truly plans to make that move, he’d involve me.

At the close of work, I rap on his door, hoping to catch him alone but unfortunately, he has guests in his office.

"Oh, Asher, come right in." He gestures at me with a big smile on his face. "Denzel, this is my son, Asher. You must have heard about it." The model posed Denzel with shiny caramel skin stretches out a hand to me. Hesitantly, I shake the man’s hand, uncomfortable with the fact that Josh is rather aware of Denzel but I am not.

"Denzel is the new manager for our clothing brand. He has an intimidating resume and already shared some great ideas on how to revamp the company...."

My hands instantly drop. "What? Did Ashley ask for one?" I pretend not to be privy of his earlier threat to my brother.

"I already informed Ashley. He’ll be taking a back seat for now. Thanks to him, Denzel has a lot of work to do to get the company running again."

"I thought we agreed not to make decisions about my brothers’ companies without me? You already hired someone without asking me?"

Josh gets on his feet. "Look, Asher..."

"Down boy, I won’t tell you again. Stay in your lane." I reply through gritted teeth. Josh takes father’s subtle cue and plunks back down on his seat. "Denzel, please excuse my father and I. We have some clarifications to make."

Uncomfortable, Denzel leaves us. As soon as the door clicks shut, I turn to father. "So, is that it? The second my numbers waver, you’ll brand me incompetent, hold secret meetings and replace ME in the blink of an eye?"

"Of course not, Asher..."

"Then what the hell is this? How could you do such a thing to Ashley after everything

"But Ashley’s not having a rough season, is he? He’s completely lost focus..."

"You still have no right to take him out of the picture! That’s my point. He’s going through stuff. Give him a break. This phase will pass but pushing him to the sidelines is the worst thing you could do. You’re not just his boss; you are his father first. Start acting like it."

I glance at Josh. "You don’t seem to have a problem playing that role damn well when it comes to Josh, do you?" Ignoring his calls, I walk away, hoping he’d be so riddled with guilt he’ll forget Denzel.

At the parking lot, I unlock my car but before I can go, I feel a shadow lurking.

"You better come out or I’ll have the security make a show of capturing you."

Slowly, Iman appears with his hands above his head. "It’s just me."

I roll my eyes. "You? What the fuck are you doing here?" While I survey the area for onlookers, he backs away into a blind spot of the closest camera. I walk up to him. "Wow. You must have a knack for getting on my last nerve."

"No, I promise, there’s a good reason for me risking my neck to come before you. I’m only here because I knew you’d be mad if I went to any of your brothers with the information I have. Trust me, it’ll make your night." His roguish grin is back on his face.

"If this is a complete waste of my time..."

"It’s not, trust me."

"I will never trust you." But I am intrigued at how excited he is to share it with me. "Why me?"

"Because apparently you call the shots in the group. This info is best heard by the captain of the ship. That way, you can steer things however you want."

"Enough blabbing. What the hell do you have for me?"

His smile disappears. "You have to promise me some financial stability first. I want a monthly payout of five thousand bucks and in return, I’ll do whatever you want. When you hear what I have to say, you might even pay me more."

His smile fades when he sees that my frown only deepens.

"Ok, we can discuss those details later. I’ll get to the point. I got an interesting call an hour ago. It came from a local clinic. I rushed over because I couldn’t believe what I had heard on the phone."

"Stop beating around the bush and get to the point, Iman!" I warn him.

"It was Demi’s call. She asked me to come get her from the clinic but that’s the least shocking part. I thought she was playing pranks. When I got there, she had a bandage over her head and the nurse informed me that Demi passed out and accidentally hit her head on a slab of stone. I think she’s lost a good chunk of her memories, as much as five to six years back because she acted like we were still dating. She even let me...kiss her cheek."

"What?"

"I don’t think she’s pretending. I took full advantage and kissed her on the lips briefly just to check but she didn’t push me away. I couldn’t wait to tell you so I left her with Anna.

"Anna knows?"

"Yeah. Demi called her shortly after. When she arrived, she refused to believe everything at first. Then after it dawned on her, she tried to jumpstart Demi’s memories by reminding her of everything that’s happened in the last few years but nothing rang a bell in Demi’s head. The poor girl still thinks Anna works at the Blue Cove." He laughs. "Do you know what this means? If Demi somehow suffered amnesia, we’ve got a second chance to rewrite our stories..."

The rest of his words get lost on me. I zone out. Demi lost her memories? Could this be true?

Anna’s call comes in just then.

"Asher?" She sounds like she’s been crying. "I need you."

"Iman told me. I’m on my way."

"Hurry, please."

"Don’t call anyone else, ok? Trust me."

She pauses. "Not even Ashton? Maybe he can..."

"No one else, Anna. I’ll be with you shortly." I hang up. "Get in and take me to that damn clinic." I order Iman. "I need to see this for myself." On our way there, I can’t stop thinking of a million ways this could go if Demi’s condition is real. I am particularly curious about one thing: What exactly does she not remember?